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Baron FitzWalter is an ancient title in the
Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...
. It was created on 24 June 1295 for
Robert FitzWalter Robert FitzwalterAlso spelled Fitzwater, FitzWalter, fitzWalter, etc. (died 9 December 1235) was one of the leaders of the baronial opposition against King John, and one of the twenty-five sureties of Magna Carta. He was feudal baron of Littl ...
. The title was created by
writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...
, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines.


History

One of the oldest titles in the English Peerage, the barony of FitzWalter has a long history. The fourth baron was an
Admiral of the Fleet An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...
. The fourth baron's grandson, the sixth baron, died from dysentery at the siege of Harfleur. He was succeeded by his brother, the seventh baron, who was the last known male line descendant of
Rollo Rollo (, ''Rolloun''; ; ; – 933), also known with his epithet, Rollo "the Walker", was a Viking who, as Count of Rouen, became the first ruler of Normandy, a region in today's northern France. He was prominent among the Vikings who Siege o ...
of Normandy, and was succeeded by his daughter and only child, Elizabeth. She was the wife of John Radcliffe. Their son, the ninth baron, was attainted for treason in 1495 with his title forfeited. However, his son Robert Radcliffe obtained a reversal of the attainder by Act of Parliament in 1509 and later served as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire. He was created by Viscount FitzWalter in 1525 and
Earl of Sussex Earl of Sussex is a title that has been created several times in the Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. The early Earls of Arundel (up to 1243) were often also called Earls of Sussex. The fifth creation came in the Pee ...
in 1529. His grandson, the third earl, was summoned to the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
through a writ of acceleration in 1553 in his father's junior title of Baron FitzWalter. Lord Sussex later served as
Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...
. He was succeeded by his younger brother, the fourth earl. He had earlier represented
Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is prod ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
and
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
and also served as
Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. Since 1688, all the Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Hampshire. From 1889 until 1959, the administrative county was named the County of Southampton. * ...
. When he died the titles passed to his only child, the fifth earl. He was
Lord Lieutenant of Essex This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Essex. Since 1688, all the Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Essex. * John Petre, 1st Baron Petre * John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford 1558–? * Robert Dudley, 1st ...
. On his death in 1629, the barony of FitzWalter separated from the viscountcy and earldom. The latter titles were inherited by the late earl's cousin and heir male, the sixth earl, who notably sat as a Member of Parliament for
Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own Petersfield railway station, railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rai ...
,
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
and Portsmouth. When he died in 1643 the viscountcy and earldom became extinct. The claim to the barony of FitzWalter was passed on to the fifth earl's cousin and heir-general Henry Mildmay, ''de jure'' fifteenth baron. He was the son of Lady Frances, the only daughter of the second earl of Sussex by his second wife, Anne Calthorpe. He claimed the barony in 1641 and 1645 but was unsuccessful both times and was never summoned to the House of Lords. His grandson Henry Mildmay, ''de jure'' sixteenth baron, successfully claimed the title in 1660. However, his younger brother Benjamin Mildmay successfully petitioned for the peerage in 1667 and was summoned to the House of Lords as the seventeenth baron. In 1730 his younger son, the nineteenth baron, was created Viscount Harwich, in the County of Essex, and Earl FitzWalter, in the
Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...
. Lord FitzWalter later served as
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and was also
Lord Lieutenant of Essex This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Essex. Since 1688, all the Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Essex. * John Petre, 1st Baron Petre * John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford 1558–? * Robert Dudley, 1st ...
. However, on his death in 1756, the viscountcy and earldom became extinct while the barony of FitzWalter fell into
abeyance Abeyance (from the Old French ' meaning "gaping") describes a state of temporary dormancy or suspension. In law, it can refer to a situation where the ownership of property, titles, or office is not currently Vesting, vested in any specific perso ...
between the daughters of Mary, only sister of the sixteenth and seventeenth barons. The peerage remained in abeyance for 168 years, until it was called out of abeyance in 1924 (after a petition to the House of Lords) in favour of Henry Fitzwalter Plumptre, who became the twentieth baron. He was the son of John Bridges Plumptre and grandson of Eleanor, wife of Reverend Henry Western Plumptre and daughter of Sir Brook William Bridges, 4th Baronet, of Goodneston, a descendant of the aforementioned Mary, sister of the sixteenth and seventeenth barons. Sir Brook William Bridge's eldest son Sir Brook William Bridges, 5th Baronet, of Goodneston, had unsuccessfully claimed the barony in 1842, but was instead created Baron FitzWalter, of Woodham Walter in the County of Essex, in 1868 (for more information on this creation, which became extinct in 1875, see Bridges baronets of Goodneston). The twentieth baron died childless in 1932 when the peerage once again fell into abeyance. The abeyance was terminated in 1953 in favour of Fitzwalter Brook Plumptre, the twenty-first Baron. He was the son of George Beresford Plumptre, the younger brother of the twentieth baron. , the title is held by his son, the twenty-second Baron, who succeeded in 2004. The family seat is Goodnestone Park. The house was built in 1704 by Sir Brook Bridges, 1st Baronet, of Goodneston. The house came into the Plumptre family through the marriage of the aforesaid Eleanor Bridges, daughter of Sir Brook William Bridges, 4th Baronet, of Goodneston, to Reverend Henry Western Plumptre, whose son John Bridges Plumptre inherited it upon the death of the last Bridges baronet of Goodneston in 1899. The FitzWalters were of the same line as the de Clare. Presuming they were from an unbroken male line, the seventh baron was the last agnate of the
House of Normandy The House of Normandy ( ) was a noble family originating from the Duchy of Normandy. The House of Normandy's lineage began with the Scandinavian Rollo who founded the Duchy of Normandy in 911. The House of Normandy includes members who were ...
. Through de Balliol they also have a connection to the old Saxon line in England.


Baron FitzWalter (1295)

* Robert FitzWalter, 1st Baron FitzWalter (1247–1325)Christopher Starr, ‘Fitzwalter family (per. c.1200–c.1500)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 20 Aug 2017
/ref> * Robert FitzWalter (c. 1297–1328), 2nd Baron FitzWalter by modern usage * John FitzWalter, 2nd (or 3rd) Baron FitzWalter, son of previous (c. 1315–1361) * Walter FitzWalter, 3rd (or 4th) Baron FitzWalter (1345–1386), son of previous * Walter FitzWalter, 4th (or 5th) Baron FitzWalter (1368–1406), son of previous * Humphrey FitzWalter (1398–1415), (''suo jure'') 6th Baron FitzWalter by modern usage (never summoned to parl.), son of previous * Walter FitzWalter, 5th (or 7th) Baron FitzWalter (1400–1431), brother of previous * Elizabeth FitzWalter (1430–1485), ''suo jure'' 8th Baroness FitzWalter, daughter of previous, wife of Sir John Radcliffe of Attleborough * John Radcliffe, 6th (or 9th) Baron FitzWalter (1452?–1496), son of previous * Robert Radcliffe, 7th (or 10th) Baron FitzWalter (d. 1542), son of the 6th/9th baron, restored 1506 (created Viscount FitzWalter 1525)


Viscount FitzWalter (1525)

* Robert Radcliffe, 1st Viscount FitzWalter, 10th Baron FitzWalter (d. 1542) (created Earl of Sussex in 1529)


Earl of Sussex (1529)

* Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex, 1st Viscount FitzWalter, 10th Baron FitzWalter (d. 1542) * Henry Radclyffe, 2nd Earl of Sussex, 2nd Viscount FitzWalter, 11th Baron FitzWalter (c. 1506–1557) * Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, 3rd Viscount FitzWalter, 12th Baron FitzWalter (c. 1525–1583) * Henry Radclyffe, 4th Earl of Sussex, 4th Viscount FitzWalter, 13th Baron FitzWalter (c. 1530–1593) * Robert Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Sussex, 5th Viscount FitzWalter, 14th Baron FitzWalter (d. 1629) (barony dormant) * Edward Radclyffe, 6th Earl of Sussex, 6th Viscount FitzWalter (1559–1643) (never Baron FitzWalter)


Baron FitzWalter (1295; reverted)

*Henry Mildmay, ''de jure'' 15th Baron FitzWalter (c. 1585–1654) *Henry Mildmay, ''de jure'' 16th Baron FitzWalter (d. 1662) *Benjamin Mildmay, 17th Baron FitzWalter (c. 1646–1679) (confirmed 1667) *Charles Mildmay, 18th Baron FitzWalter (1670–1728) * Benjamin Mildmay, 19th Baron FitzWalter (1672–1756) (created Earl FitzWalter in 1730)


Earl FitzWalter (1730)

* Benjamin Mildmay, 1st Earl FitzWalter, 19th Baron FitzWalter (1672–1756) (barony abeyant 1756)


Barons FitzWalter (1295; reverted)

*Henry Fitzwalter Plumptre, 20th Baron FitzWalter (1860–1932) (abeyance terminated 1924; abeyant 1932) *Fitzwalter Brook Plumptre, 21st Baron FitzWalter (1914–2004) (abeyance terminated 1953) *Julian Brook Plumptre, 22nd Baron FitzWalter (b. 1952) The
heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...
is the present holder's son, Hon. Edward Brook Plumptre (b. 1989).


Barons FitzWalter (1868)

*see Bridges baronets of Goodneston


Family tree


Notes


References

* * *


External links


Goodnestone Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:FitzWalter Baronies in the Peerage of England Extinct baronies in the Peerage of the United Kingdom 1295 establishments in England Noble titles created in 1295 Noble titles created in 1868 Peerages created for UK MPs